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Wednesday, August 19, 2026 • Extreme, dangerous heat. 107-108. ☀️
Poll results:
We received 240 votes on the Tuesday poll, “How confident are you that your insurance company would handle a storm-damage claim fairly?”
24 said, “Very confident”
90 said, “Somewhat confident”
68 said, “Not very confident”
54 said, “Not confident at all”
4 said, “I’ve never filed a claim.”
New poll question at the bottom of today’s newsletter. (You can also suggest a poll question by emailing me at [email protected].)
Will Oklahoma join more than 30 other states regulating AI in elections?
Oklahoma Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt, left, and Maryland Democratic Gov. Wes Moore, right, talk to reporters about the need to regulate AI-generated election communications during a press conference at the National Governors Association 2026 Summer Meeting in Oklahoma City. In the background are circulating deepfake images of Oklahoma's gubernatorial candidates, Hillary Clinton and President Donald Trump.
By Lionel Ramos, KOSU
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The Oklahoma Ethics Commission is weighing the need for new rules around the use of artificial intelligence-generated campaign advertisements. But new ethics regulations involve political will, and while other states have addressed the issue, Oklahoma lawmakers have yet to act.
Abortion access. State income taxes. Welfare benefits. There’s a lot that Oklahoma Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt and his Democratic counterpart from Maryland, Gov. Wes Moore, disagree on.
But stopping robots from lying to voters at the whims of dark-money groups—that’s a common cause.
“When you literally, you know, confuse or lie to Oklahomans through AI, you can't tell what's real... I think that's across the line,” Stitt said in late July, at the annual National Governors Association, or NGA, summer meeting in Oklahoma City.
It was the same weekend that Stitt, who served as the NGA chair for two years, passed the baton to his vice-chair, Moore, who agreed with him.
“It is true, you should not be able to use technology to distort facts and realities for people,” Moore said. “Particularly because people are very susceptible to these types of manipulations.”
Thirty-one states, including Maryland, have regulated the use of AI-generated advertisements – specifically deepfakes – in elections, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Oklahoma is not one of them. And while Stitt is on his way out of office, he says that needs to change.
Sound familiar?
Over 4 million people have had the same lightbulb moment.
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Here’s what’s happening in Oklahoma today:
Oklahoma City Council renews license plate reader contract despite pushback (KOSU)
'My night to have McDonald’s': Video shows public intoxication arrest of Oklahoma secretary of state (KOCO)
Fact-check: Candidates clash over past allegations in Oklahoma superintendent runoff debate (The Frontier)
New findings released in multimillion-dollar scheme involving Tulsa Public Schools bond director (News On 6)
Heartland Flyer secures funding to continue service through next year (KOCO)
Oklahoma Republicans raise millions ahead of key runoff elections (Oklahoma Voice)
SQ 844: Property tax reimbursement reform has educators uneasy (NonDoc)
Legacy at Covell construction underway in Edmond (KFOR)
Edmond moves to Stage Two water restrictions effective immediately amid heat, dry spell (Fox 25)
Tulsa has a pipe service plan that covers expensive repair costs. Is it worth it? (Tulsa Flyer)
Sampson residency probe re-opened by DA due to ‘additional evidence’ (Broken Arrow Sentinel)
Oklahoma kids use drugs at higher rates than the national average. A new initiative wants to change that. (Oklahoma Watch)
Cherokee Nation breaks ground on new Claremore Outpatient and Emergency Health Center (News On 6)
Cleanup is underway after large natural gas tank fire in Glenpool (StateImpact Oklahoma)
Bixby adopts new school safety protocol (KJRH)
Bryan County collision leaves 1 dead and three paramedics hurt after truck-ambulance crash (Fox 25)
German teens helped by Oklahoma trooper minutes after U.S. arrival (News 9)
Wednesday Poll
Should Oklahoma regulate AI-generated political ads and election deepfakes?
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